Being an editor is a highly personal job with a bizarrely impersonal structure.<\/p>\n
All day long, I slice and dice articles that writers have poured their hearts<\/a> and souls into. Often, I go hours without speaking to anyone. I work with more than 30 writers whom I\u2019ve never met, yet I feel as if I know them.<\/p>\n On paper, the writers I work with have nothing in common. One\u2019s a stay-at-home mom, another\u2019s a whistleblower, and a third is a full-time backpacker who uses freelancing income to travel the world<\/a>. But the quality of their writing binds them all together.<\/b><\/p>\n After reading hundreds of articles from prospective writers, I\u2019ve realized that there are a few things I look for every time:<\/p>\n A unique voice is the number one thing that makes me scoot to the edge of my chair when I\u2019m reading an article.<\/b> I feel like I know my writers because their voices tell me about their personalities, what they find funny, how empathetic they are, and how much they love what they do.<\/p>\n I wish I knew how to teach voice, but it\u2019s not something you can force. You can read the greats and try to absorb their style, but the best you can hope for is a convincing imitation. A writer can only develop her own voice<\/a> through experience.<\/p>\n My all-time favorite writers are those who make me want to read snippets of their articles out loud in the office to anyone who will listen. A writer with an infectious personality produces articles that demand to be read because they\u2019re so entertaining. And if you\u2019ve got my attention, you\u2019re probably going to get the job.<\/b><\/p>\n While it\u2019s not appropriate for every article, I\u2019m a sucker for witty pop culture references<\/a> or masterful sarcasm. I once had a writer who sent me an article called \u201c5 Ways to Run Your Startup Into the Ground.\u201d It was fantastic because it presented actual advice by showing what not <\/i>to do.<\/p>\n This may earn a few gasps of outrage from the literary community, but nothing turns me off more quickly than flowery language<\/a>. Some of the most overused $5 words I see include \u201cplethora,\u201d \u201cgermane,\u201d and \u201conus.\u201d (We keep a running list of most-hated words on the office whiteboard.)<\/p>\n When writing for the web, it\u2019s better to be understood than admired for an extensive vocabulary.<\/b><\/p>\n Good writing doesn\u2019t leave you looking for the seams; it makes you forget you\u2019re reading altogether. A piece of writing should \u201csound\u201d good in your head and feel like a one-on-one conversation with the writer.<\/p>\n George Orwell once wrote a list of rules<\/a> for effective writing, and my favorite is, \u201cNever use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Any writer who tells me to \u201cthink outside the box,\u201d \u201cjump on the bandwagon\u201d or \u201cget more bang for my buck\u201d is going to get my darkest Grumpy Cat scowl.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t ever write someone off if he doesn\u2019t stick to AP style, but at least a basic knowledge of style is a major plus. Most of our editors were trained as journalists<\/a>, and most of the publications we work with favor AP over Chicago style. Regardless of which style you use, consistency and readability are key.<\/p>\n Again, this is more of a \u201cnice to have\u201d trait than a requirement, but writers with a lot of knowledge about healthcare, tech, entrepreneurship or digital marketing are extremely valuable additions to our freelance roster.<\/p>\n1. A distinct voice<\/b><\/h2>\n
2.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>Personality that leaps off the page<\/b><\/h2>\n
3.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>Clear, unpretentious prose<\/b><\/h2>\n
4.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>An \u201cear\u201d for syntax<\/b><\/h2>\n
5.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>Clich\u00e9-free expression<\/b><\/h2>\n
6.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>Knowledge of AP style<\/b><\/h2>\n
7.<\/b> \u00a0<\/b>Deep expertise in a specific industry<\/b><\/h2>\n